I won this on eBay yesterday. It is in tough condition, but I am going to give it a try. It appears to be an old Turret or traders phone. Looks AE to me, but the dial is WE. That's any easy fix. Speaker to listen to the Hotline action. I work at a Global Private Bank and am always looking for something old that is Stock Exchange related. I was surprised that it went so low. Amazing Dial Card looks to be in great shape. This will be a great winter project....Doug
http://tinyurl.com/8jq9od2 ( dead link 07-04-21 )
I saw this auction, but dismissed it because I thought this was someones attempt to convert a phone to a radio. What do you mean by "traders phone"?
Stock Exchange traders. They have to be in touch with other traders. With the dial card I am guessing this is an early trading phone. The speaker was used to be in constant contact with ring down lines to other companies. I am hoping that is what I got. The dial card id worth it to me, the rest is gravy!...Doug
The dial looks like an operators dial - I assume the phone was not used to dial to an outside line?
Good call Doug, I think your theory is very likely. It is a modification of an AE wall phone so your recently acquired AE type 38 handsets can be used to complete it. I would assume that phones like this were likely modified for this purpose by the Telco or some other unrelated company rather than by AE though anything is possible. I have seen indications of AE being involved in lots of odd things presumably to make a sale of its products.
All that I can recall from our old Vancouver Stock Exchange was flush panel mounted call director type keys with an attached AE 43A or 83A space saver for handset, hook and network. On the trading floor they didn't have dials as everything was ring down. I guess looks wasn't real important either as the AE wall sets had dial blanks with A barrier Strip type screw term strip mounted on it to easily connect it to the key strip. I have several of the phones but unfortunately I didn't keep any of the key strip units.
Terry
Thanks or the info Terry. I can't wait to see it and chek it out....many thanks....Doug
Doug - that is an awesome phone! You'll have to post some photos when you have it all done! Just curious, how does the speaker work? Is it like a speakerphone, or is other equipment needed to make it function?
My guess and only a guess was the speaker was separate from the phone and received the hotline that all the traders were on and the phone was separate. This is only a guess as these were before I started in the industry 35 years ago...Doug
That phone probably started life as an AE type 3.
Larry
I received the phone yesterday and the condition is MUCH better than expected. What I thought was rust is just dirt. The screen over the speaker is ripped, but I was thinking of replacing with a coarse window screen, any ideas?
"I would assume that phones like this were likely modified for this purpose by the Telco or some other unrelated company rather than by AE though anything is possible."
Terry, in your opinion, would there be a reason for a WE dial over an AE dial. I'd like to put an AE dial on it, but want to keep it authentic as possible. I will use one of the AE Handsets. Is the handset that came a an AE 1A with the ringer built in a AE Type 38. I can never get them straight.
The dial card is perfect!! I have never taken so long to remove one from a retainer ring. Scared I would ruin it. Scared that it wasn't the celluloid that was stained, but the card. Perfect with no fading, the celluloid held.
This will be a great Winter Project....Doug
About the dial, I would guess that whoever modified the phone used a faster WE switchboard dial to make dialing faster.
Larry
Does the speaker grill appear similar the a screen? What about the typical speaker grill cloth used on radios and tv sets back then?
The spit up handsets that are older than the type 41's used on the 40 & 50 are the type 38's. Not sure if you meant the 1A sets with the extension base for a ringer OR the ones with the induction coil handset. I guess we need to determine if there is an induction coil in the phone housing to get the correct handset. Stub can help here.
Larry might be correct about the dial though I don't think that all WE curved fingers top dials run at 20 PPS. Depends what type of switch they were talking to. So it could also come down to what type of dials the operating company liked to use.
Terry
Really neat phone, Doug. Having that dial card is awesome. By the looks of the paint loss on the finger holes, it got a lot of use.
What is the model number on the dial?
David....Dial is a #6, I'll check it out when I get home
Terry....it is a screen, not cloth. But I do have an old radio for parts with great cloth....hmmmm.
As for the dial, I'll probalby leave it as is if you think it is correct.
All.....thanks for all the input. Its nice to find something so different. I am exceited to get to it....Doug
I worked on this for about four hours this rainy morning, no yard sales. I am very happy with it. Not perfect, but way better that it was. Nice AE Type 38 handset with an original cord was added. Many hours of rubbong brasso with a cloth to remove a coat of paint and years of grime. Wet sanded in places. I thought this was all rusted out from the photos, but there is NO rust at all. 6E3 WE dial. I just replaced the finger wheel as the original was bent out of shape. Temporary window screen until I can find something better. Knob on left I am guessing adjusted the volume of the speaker. Button on the left, talk back?? I am not sure. I have never seen anything quite like this. I am please with the outcome....Doug
Just awesome job, Doug!! And a nice, unique item for your collection! There can't be too many of those that survived.... However, your Winter project is now done and Fall just started....... I'm guessing you still have a few projects to work on..... ;)
Paul...just a Few Projects ::) I went downstairs this morning and it was sitting on my work bench and instead of moving it, I started. It was a labor of love as I never thought it would even closely resemble the final phone. It is now residing in my phone room. I has to take a phone out, now I am debating the correct one to leave....thanks for the kind words...Doug
Wow Doug! Can I have it! :)
I'm wondering if that is an induction coil handset. Stub?
Quote from: AE_collector on September 29, 2012, 05:34:02 PM
Wow Doug! Can I have it! :)
I'm wondering if that is an induction coil handset. Stub?
it is...that's why I asked you if it was a Type 38 as I get confused with the AEs. I have another in mint condition...Doug
Awesome Doug! That's a beautiful phone. Nice job bringing it back to life. I was thinking the same thing as RotarDad.....there goes your winter project. There's always another one though (project).
thanks Dennis....I had taken a few swipes with a rag and brasso when it came and felt this would never last until winter. I went down to the the dungeon this morning and it was calling me. What could I do? I have never seen anything like it which makes it so desirable to me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would look like this when I was finished. Brasso, wet sandpaper and ton of elbow grease. Why this was sprayed black I'll never know. Slow process to remove the "new" paint but it was original shiny black paint underneath. I think the "new" coat just protected the original finish. I am very satisfied....Doug
What a change Doug. Beautiful job.
Chuck
Quote from: Doug Rose on September 29, 2012, 06:20:06 PM
it is...that's why I asked you if it was a Type 38 as I get confused with the AEs. I have another in mint condition...Doug
I know what the problem was here. These are the handsets from your AE-4 / Intercom's that got busted in shipment.
There was never a picture of the handsets in that thread. I meant that this type of phone would have come with the type 38 handsets rather than the type 41 handsets.
From the pictures on the ebaY listing I can't see that there is an induction coil in the phone case so an induction coil handset may be the proper handset choice for this phone.
Terry
Doug,
Sweeet!!!!!!! Great job!!!!!!!!!!! I saw it also but couldn't figure out what it was, and still don't have a clue .
All the AE #3 and 13's, that I have seen, have one dial hole in the center of the front cover. More pics of the insides might tell the rest of the story! Could be a converted 21 case or a manual wall #16 with holes added for the dial and speaker. AE put the induction coil receiver in the regular # 38 handset also in 1929 so I guess either one could be correct.
The handset pictured is a 32A14 ( Catalog 4055 ,1934 , pg. 14) P S Could you please post a pic of the transmitter of the intercom handsets also.
Doug ,you made it look so good, I wish I had bid on too!!!!!!!!!! stub
This sure looks like my Turret Phone. ...Doug
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Antique-Vintage-Automatic-Electric-Wall-Telephone-Monophone-With-Intercom-/284102915884
Cute. :)
Bidding currently at $40. 8 bids so far.
Seller screenshots:
Couple more:
this is not an easy phone to find. I found mine 8 years ago and have never seen another.
Handset is wrong, it is a Leich, otherwise looks solid and ready for refurb...good luck...Doug